Wayne.B wrote:
On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 07:21:41 -0500, HK wrote:

D'oh. I'm not knocking diesels. I wouldn't buy another large boat
without them. What I am knocking is the concept that it "costs less" to
run diesels. It doesn't when you add in some of the incredible
"maintenance and repair" charges.

The boat originally in question was a 34 footer with twin outboards.
The numbers are pretty conclusive that the break even point on cost is
less than 200 hours of operation. Maintenance cost on the diesels
should not become a factor until well beyond 2,000 hours.


Actually, the numbers you are were "pretty conclusive," but nothing more
than speculation, and you had gas prices a buck more a gallon than
diesel. That's not the case at my favorite marina, where the last time I
filled up, diesel and gas were much closer in price than that.

Further, I'm not aware of any "longevity" stats (hours between major
rebuilds?) on high horsepower four cycle outboard engines that could be
used for comparison with diesels of similar horsepower under similar
use. Are you? I do know that the newer diesels that are turning fairly
high RPMS and are equipped with air/fuel "boost" gear (turbos and the
like) don't have the MTBF stats of the older, slower diesels.